CFS slams Pierre Trudeau scholarship

By Jeff HignettGazette Staff

The federal government's recently announced Trudeau Foundation Fellowship  a $125 million scholarship fund  has been
labeled "gimmicky" by one national student group.

The fellowship, named in memory of former prime minister Pierre Trudeau, will support up to 30 doctoral and post-doctoral students each year in the humanities and social sciences, paying $50,000 over four years.

Ian Boyko, national chairperson of the Canadian Federation of Students, said the idea for the foundation is "gimmicky," in part because it is named for Trudeau.

He said the CFS is not opposed to money being allocated towards students, but disagrees with the lack of public consultation in the decision-making process that led to the creation of the fellowship.

"[The government] have missed the target. Money is being spent on social science as research," Boyko said. "If the Chrétien government really wanted to do something, they would increase the budget of the Social Science and Humanities Research Council.

"This is the problem with [such] foundations," Boyko said. "They are 100 per cent gimmick, while money could be spent on existing programs."

Proponents of the fellowship, announced by Industry Minister Allan Rock on Feb. 20, stand by their decision-making process.

"The government decided to do something to honour Trudeau's memory," said Marie Tobin, director general of the Innovation Policy Branch of Industry Canada.

"This is something that Pierre Trudeau's family decided to do last year, and the government decided to [step in and] do this," she said.

Liam Arbuckle, national director of the Canadian Alliance of Student Associations, said while CASA welcomes the Trudeau fellowship, they hope it will lead to an increased focus on affordable and accessible post-secondary education.

"We are all for it, but we want to monitor the program as it progresses," Arbuckle said, adding it is hard to disagree with $125 million in funds directed towards scholarships for students.